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SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF 
JOHN BROWN 



BY 

LEON HiJHNER, A. M., LL. B. 

NEW YORK CITY 



Reprinted from 
THE MAGAZINE OF HISTORY 

WITH NOTES AND QUERIES 

September, 1908 



Gift 

Author 
<Panon) 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN. 

PERHAPS no period in the history of our country has been the 
subject of opinions more widely divergent, than the period imme- 
diately preceding the Civil War, and more particularly the story 
of the struggle for Kansas (1854-7). Nor is there a character in the 
whole range of American history concerning whom more widely opposite 
views have prevailed than that of John Brown of Osawatomie. On the 
one hand a group of writers have characterized him and his men as 
marauders,' on the other hand a no less distinguished group, including 
Emerson, Thoreau, Hinman and Sanborn, have accorded them a fore- 
most place in American patriotism, calling them the Deliverers of Kansas 
and Martyrs to the cause of freedom. - 

No less extreme are the views concerning the effect of John Brown's 
career. One group of historians declared that it had practically no effect 
whatever,^ another, numbering many famous names, have called John 
Brown and his little band " the first recruits to inaugurate the great 
struggle which cost nearly a million of lives and billions of money "* and 
the writer in Appleton's Cyclopedia goes so far even, as to state " that 
slavery would have triumphed over all legal and legislative skill had not 
the sword been thrown into the balance even in a small way; that the 
largest affairs in which Brown took part. Black Jack and Osawatomie for 
instance, seem trifling amid the vast encounters of the Civil War, but 
with these petty skirmishes nevertheless began that great conflict."' 

Amid such extremes it is most difficult to reach a just estimate and 
I have therefore chosen as a fair guide in the narrative, wherever possible, 

1 John W. Burgess, The Middle Period in American History Series. (N. Y., 1897.) 
440-1. 

2 See also Dr. Leverett W. Spring, John Broivn and the Destruction of Slavery. Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Publ., 2d Series, vol. xiv., p. 2. Also A. R. Keim, John Brotvn in Richardson 
County. Neb. State Hist. Soc, vol. ii., p. 109, quoting also James Redpath. See also esti- 
mates of Ingalls, Theodore Parker, Alcott and others given in Sanborn's Life and Letters 
of John Brown. (Boston, 1885.) 

3 J. W. Burgess, The Middle Period. N. Y., 1897. 

James Ford Rhodes, History of the United States. (N. Y., 1899,) vol. ii, p. 165. 
* H. E. Palmer in vol. vi., Kan. S. Hist. Soc. 317. 
i> Appleton's Cyc. of Amer. Biog. i., p. 406. 

I 




2 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

the excellent work of James Ford Rhodes, whose history of the period 
is rapidly becoming recognized as a standard." 

One thing, however, seems to be conceded even by the most partisan 
writers, namely that Brown was actuated by a sincere desire to abolish 
slavery, that his motives were honest and pure, even though the methods 
he employed are the subject of violent controversy. 

It is also noteworthy that despite the mass of literature that has 
grown up around Brown, his men and the troubles in Kansas, there were 
never at any time associated with him more than about a score of fol- 
lowers. It is therefore most interesting to find that three of this small 
group were Jewish pioneers. 

In order to understand the career of John Brown and his men, it is 
absolutely essential to get some idea of the leader himself, and of the 
condition of things that surrounded him in Kansas. 

Brown was a descendant of one of the Puritans who came over in 
the Mayfloinser; for two generations, at least, the family had been New 
England Abolitionists, and the man's whole soul was sworn in enmity to 
the institution of slavery. Whether sanely or not, he honestly considered 
himself the instrument of God to strike a blow against the hideous 
institution, and as Appleton's Cyclopedia informs us, on one occasion 
while he was still living in the East, " he solemnly called his older sons 
together and pledged them kneeling in prayer to give their lives to anti- 
slavery work.'" In the words of Mr. Rhodes " He was ascetic in 
habits, inflexible in temper, upright in intention. He was what people 
called a visionary man."* For many years he had devoted his energies 
and limited means to what he believed to be his divine mission. Some 
of his sons had emigrated to Kansas in 1855, and this ultimately induced 
him to follow, with the avowed purpose of preventing slavery from be- 
coming permanently established in the new territory." 

Let us now turn to the conditions existing in Kansas at the time. It 
will at once become clear that a mind so inflamed against slavery was of 

° James Ford Rhodes, History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850. 
(N. Y., 1899.) 

^Appleton's Cyc. of Amer. Biog. i., 405. 

* Rhodes' History of the United States, vol. ii., p. i6i. 

* Appleton's Cyc. of Amer. Biog., i., 405, &c. Also Sanborn's Life and Letters of John 
Brown. (Bost., 1885.) 



k. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 3 

necessity forced to play a prominent part in the extraordinary conditions 
that prevailed. 

By the terms of the Missouri Compromise in 1820, Missouri was 
to be admitted as a slave state, but all the country north of 36° 30' north 
latitude was to be free soil. As years went on however, several terri- 
tories like California had been admitted as free states, the Abolition 
movement was spreading rapidly through New England and elsewhere, 
and it soon became evident to the South, not only that the institution of 
slavery was in danger, but that with the advent of new free states the 
influence of the slaveholding states and of the entire South in Congress 
would be considerably diminished. It therefore became of supreme 
importance to prevent if possible, the admission of any more free states 
into the Union. 

Kansas and Nebraska were a portion of the Louisiana Purchase — 
both were being rapidly settled by immigration from the North and the 
latter was destined beyond doubt to be a free state. By the terms of the 
Missouri Compromise, Kansas was likewise free soil. Alarmed by the 
prospect of two additional free states in Congress, the southern leaders, 
Jefferson Davis, Douglas and others brought about legislation known as 
the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which nullified the Missouri Compromise and 
provided that the people of the Territories mentioned should determine 
for themselves whether they would be slave or free. 

Kansas had been Indian land, and as soon as it v/as thrown open 
to white settlement in 1854 the policy of the South became manifest. 
She began pouring into Kansas armed bands of ruffians, for the purpose 
of keeping out northern immigration or at any rate for preventing anti- 
slavery settlers from taking an active part in the affairs of the Territory." 

Both North and South realized the importance of the issue in 
Kansas, which was summed up by a contemporary writer and has been 
quoted by most of the historians of the period: " If the South secures 
Kansas, she will extend slavery into the territory south of the 40th 
parallel of north latitude, to the Rio Grande, and this of course will 
secure for her pent up institution of slavery an ample outlet, and restore 
her power in Congress. If the North secure Kansas, the power of the 
South in Congress will be gradually diminished and the slave property 

'"Appleton's Cyc. of Amer. Biog., 404 &c. Also Connelley's Jo/in Broii:n, pp. 37 &c. 



4 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

will become valueless. All depends on the action of the present 
moment.'"'^ 

It soon developed, however, that Kansas, though a beautiful and 
fertile country, did not attract settlers from the South. One reason 
given for this is that the Southern planter found it more difficult to dispose 
of his property for purposes of emigration. His institutions, and particu- 
larly his slave property, had more or less fixed him to the soil. On the 
other hand immigration from the North was active from the start. 
Without the handicap of the southern men, the farmers from Iowa, 
Illinois and Indiana came to seek their fortune in the new western lands 
irrespective of the Slavery issue. These were reinforced by immigration 
from New England, much of which was the result of assistance given by 
the Emigrant Aid Society of Massachusetts, which encouraged free state 
men to go to Kansas; in addition to which was the tide of immigration 
through Northern ports by sturdy new-comers from European countries, 
to whom the institution of slavery was entirely foreign. Whatever may 
be said of the assistance given these settlers, they certainly were bond fide 
settlers, and the pro-slavery element in Kansas was soon decidedly in the 
minority. Notwithstanding this the slave power was determined to make 
Kansas a slave state at all hazards.^" 

The first election for a Territorial Legislature had been set for 
March 30, 1855, and it was naturally apprehended that it would be filled 
with anti-slavery men. 

What followed is best given in the words of Rhodes' history: 
" This election day was also taken note of in Missouri, and before it 
came, an unkempt, sun-dried, blatant, picturesque mob of 5000 Mis- 
sourians, with guns upon their shoulders, revolvers stuffing their belts, 
Bowie knives protruding from their boot-tops and generous rations of 
whiskey in their wagons, had marched into Kansas to assist in the election 
of the legislature. The invaders were distributed with military precison 
and were sent into every district but one. Where the election judges were 
not pro-slavery men, the mob awed them into submission or drove them 
away by threats. 6307 votes were counted, of which more than three- 
quarters were cast by the Missourians.'"" 

11 Warren Wilkes in the Charleston Mercury, quoted in A ppleton's Cyc, i., 4.04. 

1- Franklin B. Sanborn, Li^e and Letters of John Broti-'n (Boston, 1885), pp. 161-6, 167-73, 
where many authorities are collected. 

•5 James F. Rhodes, History of the United States (N. Y., 1899), ii., p. 8i. See also 
Howard, Report, p. 30. Also Sanborn's Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 190, quoting 
Horace Greeley. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 5 

Dr. Robinson, subsequently Governor of Kansas, wrote to Amos 
Lawrence: " The election is awful and will, no doubt, be set aside."" 

As it was rumored that the Territorial Governor was indignant and 
might order a new election, he was openly told that he could have fifteen 
minutes to decide whether he would give certificates to those who had 
the most votes, or be shot.^"^ Needless to say, the majority of the pro- 
slavery men were seated. 

The indignation of the free states at this perversion of popular 
government was unbounded, the settlers wrote home to their friends in 
New England, and to quote Rhodes, " Evidence like this from well 
known people was sufficient of itself to mould the sentiment of all rural 
New England. There could be no dispute about the facts," and even 
the Territorial governor (Reeder) declared "that the territory of 
Kansas in her late election was invaded by a regular organized army, 
armed to the teeth, who took possession of the ballot boxes and made 
a legislature to suit the purpose of the pro-slavery party." ^^ Though 
Reeder was decidedly in favor of the South, he admitted " that the 
accounts of fierce outrages and wild violences perpetrated, at the election, 
published in the Northern papers were in no wise exaggerated," " and 
Edward Everett's comment was: " It has lately been maintained by the 
sharp logic of the revolver and the Bowie knife that the people of 
Missouri are the people of Kansas." " 

But now came the more serious part of the struggle. This fraud- 
ulent Territorial legislature drew up a pro-Slavery Code of Laws, which 
Rhodes says " was utterly out of tune with Republican government in 
the 19th century."" Any free person, who by speaking, writing, or 
printing, should advise slaves to rebel, should suffer death; — to declare 
orally or in writing that slavery did not legally exist in the territory, 
incurred imprisonment of not less than two years. — All oflicers, attorneys 
at law and voters, if challenged, must take an oath to support the 
Fugitive Slave Law."" 

1* Rhodes. Ibid., p. 82. 

'" Ibid., p. 82. Also Sanborn, p. 173. Also Howard Report, p. 936. 

18 Rhodes, History of the United States, ii., pp. 82-3. 

IT Ibid., p. 83. Also A'. Y. Times, May i, 1855. 

1* Ibid., p. 84. See Everett's Orations, iii., 347. 

^^ Ibid., p. 99. 

20 Ibid. 



6 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

Despite all this, it must be remembered that the majority of settlers 
were against slavery and that slavery did not exist in fact, for by the 
census of 1855 there were but 192 slaves out of a total population of 
8600. 

" The men of the North," says Rhodes, " were actual settlers, and 
the same kind of people that we have seen in our own- day leave their 
homes and emigrate to Southern California and Dakota. Those who 
went into Kansas from Missouri were, on account of their appearance 
and actions, called ' Border Ruffians.' "-' 

A Congressional Committee, of which John Sherman was a member, 
subsequently investigated conditions and its report showed that what 
has been said was no exaggeration. It reported that the territorial elec- 
tions were carried by fraud, that the Territorial Legislature was an 
illegally constituted body and that its enactments were null and void."^ 
But this committee did not make its report until July, 1856, and in the 
meantime the free settlers quite naturally determined to ignore the laws 
referred to. The result of this resistance was, that the free State town 
of Lawrence was repeatedly attacked, while the Administration, with 
Jefferson Davis as Secretary of War, did little to interfere.-^ 

In order to sustain the slavery, victory and enforce obedience to the 
bogus laws, the South appropriated money to assist in the equipment 
of military companies to overawe the settlers. Thus Colonel Buford 
of Alabama raised 280 men, " of whom the majority," according to the 
leading writers, " were ignorant and brutal and made fit companions for 
the Missouri Border Ruffians." ** 

Space will not permit me to give any adequate idea of the outrages 
perpetrated by the armed southern bands and Border Ruffians on all 
who were, or were supposed to be anti-slavery; murder of free state men 
became common, while the invaders practically subsisted by plundering 
free state settlers. It soon became necessary to arm the latter, and Henry 
Ward Beecher declared " that the Sharps Rifle was a greater moral 
agency than the Bible." "" 

^^Ibid., p. 101. 

22 Rhodes, History of the United States, ii., p. 197. See also Sanborn's Life and Letters 
of John Broivn, pp. 173-8. 

-3 Ibid. Also Rhodes History, ii., pp. 83, &c., 105, &c. See also William Elsey Connel- 
ley's John Brown, in Twentieth Century Classics (Topeka, 1900). 

2* Rhodes, History of the United States, ii., p. 151. Connelley's John Broivn, pp. 83 
and 85. 

'^^ Ibid., p. 82. See also pp. 98, 100. Also Rhodes' History, ii., p. 153. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 7 

In answer to appeals for aid, the President advised the complain- 
ants to resort to the courts. How little aid these afforded, however, is 
most strikingly illustrated by quoting the sage of Concord, Ralph Waldo 
Emerson, who wrote: "Of Kansas the President says, 'let the com- 
plainants go to the courts,' though he knows that when the poor, plun- 
dered farmer goes to the court, he finds the ringleader who has robbed 
him, dismounting from his own horse, and unbuckling his knife, to sit 
as his judge." "" 

It was amid scenes like these, that John Brown came to Kansas in 
October, 1855, and settled at Osawatomie, where his sons had preceded 
him. Were anything needed to inflame his hatred of slavery, he found 
it in the conditions existing there. Assisted by his sons, his name soon 
became known throughout the territory as a leader to whom the unpro- 
tected free state settlers looked. 

In the vicinity of Osawatomie were Buford's military horde, a mass 
of Border Ruffians and several brutal pro-slavery settlers, most promi- 
nent of whom were the Doyles, Wilkinson and the Sherman brothers." 
Near here, too, was a settlement of northern men and free state Ger- 
mans, known as " Dutch Settlement," which was particularly obnoxious 
to the slavery element."' 

Prominent among these free state men were three Jews, Theodore 
Wiener, a Pole, Jacob Benjamin, a Bohemian, and August Bondi, a 
native of Vienna."" Wiener was about 37 years of age, while the other 
two were considerably younger. 

Bondi was eminently fitted to become an associate of John Brown, 
and I may be pardoned if I give a short sketch of his career.'" 

His father, Herz Emanuel Bondi, was a native of Prague but had 
resided for many years in Vienna, where August was born in 1833. 
The boy received an academic and scientific education, and with that love 
of freedom that characterized his subsequent career he enlisted in the 

2* Emerson's Miscellanies, pp. 244-6. See also Sanborn's Life and Letters, Sec, p. 500. 

2' Connelley's John Broivn, pp. 103, 104. Sanborn, pp. 272 &c., 253, 254. 

^^ Ibid., p. 142. Also Sanborn, 254. 

-° Connelley, 142. See also Sanborn, 254. See also Mr. Bondi's Sketches hereinafter 
referred to. The writer has also corresponded with Mr. Bondi and has in his possession 
interesting letters on the entire subject, written in answer to inquiries. 

2" This sketch appeared in 8 Kansas Hist. Spc. Coll., p. 275. See also article in 
Salina Herald, Jan. and Feb., 1884. 



8 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

Students' revolutionary movement just preceding 1848. As a youth of 
fifteen he became a member of the Vienna Academic Legion, a body 
9000 strong, consisting of students between the ages of fifteen and twenty- 
five. This body organized the revolution in the German Austrian States, 
assisting Kossuth. Young Bondi became a member of Captain Zach's 
Company, and was among the few survivors at the semi-centennial Aca- 
demic Reunion in 1898. 

But the youth's revolutionary career was cut short, for in Septem- 
ber, 1848, his parents emigrated to the United States, settling in St. 
Louis. On coming of age, he became actively identified with the Bentoa 
or Free State Democratic Party, and in March, 1855, he started for 
Kansas. In May he settled on the Mosquito Branch of the Pottawat- 
omie Creek, in Franklin County." 

Both Wiener and Benjamin had resided in St. Louis, and Benjamin 
had settled in Kansas about the same time with Bondi, establishing a 
trading post.^" In September, 1855, Wiener agreed with Benjamin to 
go to Kansas to open a store, and Sanborn and other writers inform 
us that he invested $7000 in goods which he took thither." 

Before Wiener's arrival, however, both Bondi and Benjamin had 
an experience which added to the hardships of pioneer life. One of the 
Shermans, already referred to, had informed the former " that he had 
heard that he and Benjamin were free soilers, and therefore would advise 
them to clear out, or they would meet a dreadful fate." Similar state- 
ments were made by another slavery worthy,^" and Bondi and Benjamin 
thereupon took counsel what to do. Benjamin stated that he had heard 
of a small settlement of Ohio men about five miles to the northeast, and 
both agreed that these ought to be seen. Next morning Benjamin went 
there and about noon returned with Frederick Brown, who brought word 
from his three brothers that they would always be ready to assist Bondi 
and his friend.^" 

'^ Ibid. Also IVith John Broivn in Kansas, written by August Bondi at the request of 
Major Henry Inman and published in the Salina Herald, in Jan. and Feb., 1884. See also 
article in The Morning Oregonian (Portland), Sept. 3, 1903. 

'^'- Ibid. See also Sanborn, 230, 254, 272. Connelley, 142, and Hinman. 

33 Ibid. See also Sanborn's Life and Letters of John Broivn, p. 272, 230, 254. Addi- 
tional detail is contained in letters in possession of the present writer, and in the sketches of 
Mr. Bondi in Kan. Hist. Soc. Collections. 

^* Connelley's John Broivn, p. 104. Sanborn's Life and Letters of John Broun, p. 254. 

35 Ibid. 

3" See sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll., p. 275, etc. Also Sanborn's Life and Letters of 
John Broivn, p. 254. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 9 

These were the sons of John Brown, and the incident happened 
some time before their father came to Kansas. John Jr. had, however, 
organized a military company, which both Benjamin and Bondi joined." 

John Brown arrived in October, 1855 ; ^* a few days before, the free 
state men held an election of their own for a Territorial Convention. 
At this time Bondi w<as ill with fever, but anxious to participate, two 
German neighbors placed him in a cart and conveyed him to the voting 
place, where he met old John Brown for the first time.^" 

We now approach the climax of lawlessness in Kansas. The free 
state town of Lawrence had been repeatedly attacked by the slavery 
forces, and an excuse was wanted for another assault. This the Border 
Ruffians soon found, acting ostensibly as a marshal's posse. To quote 
again from Rhodes' History. " It was a swearing, whiskey-drinking, 
ruffianly horde, seven hundred and fifty in number. The irony of fate 
had made them the upholders of the law, while the industrious, frugal 
community of Lawrence were the law-breakers." The business of the 
United States official was soon completed, — but the so-called posse en- 
tered and destroyed the offices of obnoxious newspapers, the place was 
plundered, and they finally applied the torch, and sacked the town." " 
The news spread like wildfire, arousing the entire North, while in the 
territory itself most of the free state men were at first dismayed. This 
was the occasion that first brought John Brown into national prominence. 

At the news of the proposed attack on Lawrence, a party of free 
state men under Brown, and several companies under other commanders' 
decided to go to the relief of the town. Sanborn's narrative informs us 
that Wiener furnished as a gift all the provisions needed by the two 
Rifle Companies of sixty-five men when they set out for Lawrence." 
Bondi, who had returned from St. Louis that very day, promptly joined 
the Pottawatomie Rifles under the command of H. H. Williams on the 
same errand.*^ 

N;o sooner had the company started, however, than the pro-slavery 

3' Ibid. Also in 3 Kaji. Hist. Coll., p. 465. See also letter of John Brown, Jr., in Publ. 
of the Kansas States Hist. Soc. (1886), I., p. 273. 

38 See Noble L. Prentiss, A History of Kansas, (1899). Also Sanborn's Life and Letters 
of John Bronun, p. 200. 

3' See sketch in 8 Kan. His. Soc. Coll., pp. 275, &c. 

*"]. F. Rhodes, History of the United States, ii., pp. 158-9. 

<i Sanborn's Life &c., p. 272. Connelley's John Broivn, pp. 108-9. 

*2 Also sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll., pp. 275, &c. 



lO SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

men served notice on Wiener's family, and that of Benjamin, to leave 
the territory or they would hang them and burn the store.*' Nor did 
this apply to Wiener alone. Notices were prepared and delivered to free 
state settlers warning them to leave in three days and threatening them 
with death.^* As a matter of fact the families of those who had gone to 
the defense of Lawrence, were actually insulted and driven off their 
property." 

Out of revenge for the assistance Wiener had given, the ruffians 
attacked his place and burned his store with its valuable contents."" Sev- 
eral of the writers, however, claim that this was done several days later." 
As for the Browns, a contemporary writer informs us they were hunted 
as we hunt wolves to-day." 

On their way the defenders learned that Lawrence had been sacked, 
and it was also reported that no sooner had they left than the settlements 
of Brown and his neighbors were attacked by the ruffians, and their fami- 
lies driven from their homes.*" 

Bondi gives us the following account: "At 9 o'clock of the even- 
ing, a messenger from Pottawatomie Creek arrived and reported that 
the pro-slavery men had gone from house to house of free state men, 
and threatened that shortly the Missourians would be there and make a 
clean sweep of them, and at many places, where the men were absent, 
grossly insulted their wives and daughters." ^" 

Hearing this, John Brown called for volunteers to return to the Potta- 
watomie. Seven responded, one of whom was Wiener.^^ According to 
Townsley, one of the participants, the entire company were driven in a 
wagon with the exception of Wiener who rode his own gray pony.'^- 

None of the party actually knew* John Brown's plan on that occa- 

*^ Ibid. Also Connelley, pp. 108, 138. See also letter of John T. Grant quoted in Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Proc, (2d Series), vol. xiv., p. 5. 

** Connelley, p. 105, &c. 

*^ Connelley, p. 142. 

*'■ Sanborn, p. 230, &c. The Kansas Conflict, by Charles Robinson, late Governor of 
Kansas, (Lawrence), 1898, p. 287. 

*^ Connelley, p. 108. 

*' Ibid., p. 104. 

*° Ibid., pp. 1 10-15. 

"■o Connelley, p. 142. See also 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Trans., 279. 

■>! Connelley, pp. 109-16. See also p. 115. Sanborn's Life, &c., p. 263. 

°- Connelley, p. 116. Sanborn, p. 263. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN II 

sion. All believed they were merely returning to protect their homes, 
but during the night of May 24, 1856, the plan developed, and became 
what is known in Kansas history as The Pottawatomie Massacre, in which 
the Doyles, Wilkinson and Shermans were killed. It was really a lynch- 
ing party and has been severely condemned by several writers, though 
it has been defended by several of the foremost men of Kansas as a neces- 
sary measure. Among these might be mentioned Governor Robinson,"''' 
General Shelby, °* Hon. James F. Legate,'"'^ Judge Hanway,'^" F. B. San- 
born, ^^^ and the recent work of Mr. William E. Connelley in Twentieth 
Century Classics.^^ The undisputed testimony is, however, that Wiener 
had no part in the killing, he and Frederick Brown having been assigned to 
guard duty by their commander.^* 

The result of the massacre was important, for it admittedly had the 
effect of quieting the territory and intimidating the Border Ruffians. 

It is of course impossible to defend this event except on the ground 
of self-defense. I might, however, mention that in an article in the 
North American Review (1884) Senator Ingalls quotes with approval 
the following from Judge Hanway: "I did not know of a settler in 
1856 but what regarded it amongst the most fortunate events in the his- 
tory of Kansas. It saved the lives of the Free State men on the Creek, 
and those who did the act were looked upon as deliverers." ^^ On the 
other hand this event has been written about with most unsparing severity 
by men like Prof. Burgess and Mr. Rhodes.**" 

We now come to the most important part of Brown's career in Kan- 
sas, known as the Battle of Black Jack, a " battle " in which both Wiener 
and Bondi participated.* 

Returning from Pottawatomie, Brown went to the cabin of his son 

'^ The Kansas Conflict by Charles Robinson, late Governor of Kansas, (Lawrence), 
1S98, pp. 267, &c., quoted also in Connelley, at p. 140, and in Sanborn, p. 269. 

^* See Connelley, pp. 142-6. 

^^ Ibid., 143. 

^^ Ibid., 145-6, "5" Franklin B. Sanborn, Life, &lr., (Boston, 1885), who collects many 
authorities at p. 248, &c., and 280-1. 

^'' Connelley, 120-1, 137, 140. 

''^ See S. J. Shively's Address on T/ie Pottaivatomie Massacre, in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. 
Coll., pp. 177-181. See also T/:e Kansas Conflict by Charles Robinson, pp. 265-7. 

'^ See Connelley, giving the opinions of many prominent men to the same effect, pp. 
120-1, 137, 154-6. Also Sanborn, p. 281. 

""John \V. Burgess, The Middle Period. (N. Y., 1897), p. 441. Rhodes' History, 
ii., 164-5. 

° Sanborn, 297. 



12 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

John and found it solitary and deserted, the family having been driven 
away. The following night he went to the cabin of his son Jason, which 
was in a similar condition."^ Here he was joined by Bondi, whose ac- 
count of intermediate events is as follows: 

" Late in the evening of May 25th, I arrived at my claim in com- 
pany with an old neighbor, Austin. — The family of Benjamin (whom 
we had left when we departed for camp) had disappeared, and no cattle 
were to be seen. This latter was a serious matter for there was nothing 
left in the shape of provisions. When I told Austin that I was willing 
to stay with him until the last of the Border Ruffians had left the coun- 
try, he encouraged me and assured me that he would find Benjamin's 
family and protect them at all events. This the old man faithfully did. 
In memory of his friendship and self-sacrifice, I have placed a simple slab 
on his soldier's grave near Helena on the Mississippi. The next evening, 
May 26th, I arrived, tired and hungry, at the camping ground of John 
Brown, a log cabin on the banks of Middle Creek. This is one of the 
houses which under the name of ' John Brown's Cabin ' has since be- 
come famous. Here also I found my friend Wiener." "- 

From the narrative of John Brown, Jr., it appears that Benjamin had 
been taken to Baptisteville, now called Paola, with some of Brown's 
followers."^ 

Brown and his associates now resolved to go to the assistance of 
any free state family or community, and Connelley, his biographer, in- 
forms us that the whole party were but poorly armed, the leader with a 
sword and a heavy revolver, Wiener with a double barreled gun, and 
Bondi with an old-fashioned flintlock musket, while others in the party 
were similarly equipped."* 

The occasion for action soon presented itself. The settlers at Prairie 
City were threatened, and sent a messenger to search out Captain Brown, 
and request him to come to their protection. 

The aggressor in this case was Captain Pate, a Virginian who was 

^1 Sanborn, Life, &c., p. 271. Connelley, p. 157. 

'-Sanborn, pp. 271-2. Connelley, p. 157. 

"•'' Sanborn, p. 276. It seems that prior to this, Benjamin had organized a military com- 
pany also, for in the Secretary's Report of the Kansas Hist. Soc. (1881) there is mentioned 
among the MSS. collections of that Society a ' Muster Roll of Captain Jacob Benjamin's 
Pottawatomie Rifles. Pottawatomie Creek, 1855." See I., Kan. Hist. Coll., p. 96. 

«* Connelley, pp. 157-9. Sanborn, p. 293. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN I3 

at the head of a company of ruffians known as Shannon's Sharp Shooters. 
They had been at the sacking of Lawrence, and after that are said to 
have burned the house and store of Wiener. Pate had then set out to 
capture Brown, and the robberies by these men of the free state settlers 
is said to have caused the latter to seek John Brown's protection.*^ 

On May 27th, Brown and his party reached a secluded spot on 
Ottawa Creek, which the messenger from Prairie City indicated as a safe 
place for camping, and here they remained till June ist."'^ 

Of this camp we have a most interesting description from the gifted 
pen of James Redpath, then a Kansas correspondent of the New York 
Tribune. He was looking for an old preacher who lived near here and 
who was to carry his New York letter for mailing to Kansas City, when 
he accidentally stumbled upon John Brown's camp. His description is 
too long to give in full, but I venture to quote what impressed him most, 
and does credit to the little band. 

" In this camp," says he, " no manner of profane language was per- 
mitted, no man of immoral character was allowed to stay except as a 
prisoner of war. It was at this time that the old man said to me, ' I 
would rather have the small-pox, yellow fever and cholera all together 
in my camp, than a man without principles.' ' It's a mistake, sir,' he con- 
tinued, ' that our people make, when they think that bullies are the best 
fighters. — Give me men of good principles, God-fearing men, men who 
respect themselves, — and with a dozen of them I will oppose any hun- 
dred of such men as these Buford ruffians.' I remained in the camp about 
an hour. Never before had I met such a band of men. They are not 
earnest, but earnestness incarnate." "' 

Bondi, who was present, has also given an account of the camp, and 
mentions Redpath's visit, stating that the latter encouraged them until 
" they felt as if they were the extreme outpost of the free North in 
Kansas." '' 

At this time Brown suggested that if they had to leave Kansas on 
account of the cowardice or indifference of their friends, they might go 

"'■ Connelley, 159, 160-1. Also Sanborn, 293. 

*" Sanborn, pp. 293-4. 

*' Sanborn, Life &c., pp. 294-6. Also article in 8 Kan. Hist Soc. Coll. 

^^Ibid.. See also Sanborn, p. 296. 



14 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

to Louisiana and head an uprising of the slaves there, but Bond! advised 
against such a course."" 

On the night of May 31, 1856, Pate camped on the prairie near the 
ravines, which formed a small stream called Black Jack, from the abun- 
dance of a scrub of that name which grew about it. He then went to 
Palmyra, which town he attacked and plundered, committing several out- 
rages. A wagon was loaded with spoil, and then the company proceeded 
to go to Prairie City for pillage. The free state forces were all told 
thirty men, nineteen under Captain Shore and nine under Brown; Wiener 
and Bondi being among the latter. An encounter known as the Battle of 
Black Jack ensued, which lasted three hours, and is vividly described by 
several Kansas historians.'" Pate was finally compelled to surrender; 
the free state men captured a large quantity of arms and ammunition, 
took twenty-six prisoners, and recovered much property that had been 
stolen from the settlers, including some of the plunder taken from Law- 
rence, and four wagons loaded with provisions. 

A detailed account of this engagement, written by Mr. Bondi, may 
be found in Vol. 8 of the Kansas Historical Collections." 

In his report of the battle, made to a committee at Lawrence, John 
Brown gives a list of those who took part in the engagement, mentioning 
the two Jews referred to.'- 

Several years ago, Mr. Bondi wrote a letter concerning Black Jack, 
which is in the possession of the American Jewish Historical Society, 
and may not be without interest, showing incidentally the attachment of 
the followers to their leader. He writes as follows: "When we fol- 
lowed Captain Brown up the hill towards the Border Ruffians' Camp, 
I next to Brown and in advance of Wiener, we walked with bent backs, 
nearly crawled, that the tall dead grass of the year before might some- 
what hide us from the Border Ruffian marksmen, yet the bullets kept on 
whistling. Wiener was 37 and weighed 250 lbs. I, 22 and lithe. Wie- 
ner puffed like a steamboat, hurrying behind me. I called out to him, 

*° See sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll., p. 283. Also Sanborn, p. 296. 

■"^ Connelley, pp. 162-5. Sanborn, pp. 297-305. Article in The Morning Oregonian, 
(Portland), Sept. 3, 1903. (The Battle of Blaclc Jack). Emerson in his Diary, (March, 
1857), mentions the Battle of Black Jack with evident satisfaction. The present writer 
possesses autograph letters from Mr. Bondi, giving detail concerning the engagement. 

^^ See also Sanborn, pp. 293, 294, 297-308, and Connelley, 162-6. 

'- Sanborn, pp. 290 and 302. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN I 5 

' Nu, was meinen Sie jetzt.' (' Now, what do you think of this? ') His 
answer, ' Was soil ich meinen,' (' What shall I think of it,') ' Sof odom 
muves ' (a Hebrew phrase meaning ' the end of man is death,' or in mod- 
ern phraseology, ' I guess we're up against it ') . 

" In spite of the whistling of the bullets, I laughed when he said, 
' Machen wir den alten Mann sonst broges " (Look out, we'll make the 
old man angry). We started and came up with Captain Brown, and we 
finished the job as related in the enclosed report." '^ 

In a letter written by Brown to his friend Edward B. Whitman in 
August, 1856, he gives " Names of sufferers and persons who have made 
sacrifices in endeavoring to maintain and advance the Free .State Cause 
in Kansas within my personal knowledge." He mentions nine groups, 
the first of which is: 

"Two German refugees (thoroughly Free State) robbed at Potta- 
watomie, named Benjamin and Bondy (or Bundy) one has served under 
me as a volunteer; namely Bondy, Benjamin was a prisoner for some 
time. Suffered by men under Coffee & Pate." '* 

Shortly after the battle of Black Jack and in August, 1856, Brown 
organized a military company known as the Kansas Regulars. Those 
who enlisted subscribed to the following covenant: 

" We, whose names are found on these and the next following pages, 
do hereby enlist ourselves to serve in the Free State Cause under John 
Brown as Commander, during the full period of time affixed to our 
names respectively, and we severally pledge our word and our sacred 
honor to said Commander and to each other that during the time for 
which we have enlisted we will faithfully and punctually perform our 
duty — as a regular volunteer force for the maintenance of the rights and 
liberties of the Free State citizens of Kansas." Then follow the usual 
military rules which the volunteers agree to obey.'^ 

Thirty-five names are given with dates of enlistment, among them 
August 24, J. Benjamin, August 25, August Bondie." "* 

'^ See also account, substantially identical with above, in The Morning Oregonian, 
(Portland, Oregon), Sept. 3, 1903, which also contains the pictures of Solomon Brown and 
August Bondi. The writer possesses a similar letter from Mr. Bondi. 

'* Sanborn, p. 241. 

'^ Sanborn, pp. 287-290. Connelley, p. 179. 

'" Sanborn, p. 288. See also Richard J. Hinton, John Brown and His Men, p. 40. 
" To the camp came August Bondi, European engineer and soldier." 



1 6 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

There is also extant a book in Brown's handwriting giving a list of 
twenty-seven names: " Volunteers in the fight of Black Jack or Palmyra, 
June 2, '56." Among these also are Theodore Weiner and August 
Bondy." 

On August 30,1856, occurred Brown's most famous engagement, 
known as the Battle of Osawatomie. Some 400 pro-slavery men attacked 
the town, and one of Brown's sons was killed. When he heard of the 
attack he hurried with about thirty men to its defense. Between forty 
and fifty of the assailants were wounded and thirty-one killed, but despite 
all, the defense was unavailing, for Osawatomie was burnt." In 1877 
a tablet was erected on the spot as a tribute to Brown and his men." Both 
Bondi and Benjamin were in his company at the time, and took part in 
the engagement.™ 

Shortly afterward Brown left Kansas, returning, however, in 1858 
under the assumed name of Shubal Morgan. He organized a military 
company and waged war against slavery in the southeastern border of 
Kansas. The list of this company contains fifteen names, among them 
that of Theodore Wiener.*^ 

Wiener's subsequent career was not remarkably eventful; he served 
in the army for a time during the Civil War and died but recently. His 
remains are interred in the Jewish cemetery at St. Louis. *- 

Benjamin also served as a soldier during the Civil War, in the i ith 
Kansas for three years, and died in 1866.*" Bondi continued an ardent 
supporter of the anti-slavery cause, and in 1857 stumped Anderson 
County for the Topeka Constitution which was promulgated by the Free 
State Party. He participated in the fights at Bayne's Ford and Little 
Osage, and when the Civil War broke out, was among the first to enlist, 
being first sergeant of Co. K, 5th Kansas Cavalry in 1861.'* He partici- 

'''' Sanborn, p. 290. 

''^ Ibid., pp. 314-23. 

'"' Ibid., p. 323. 

*" Ibid. Also sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll. Also original letter from Mr. Bondi. 
See also Recollections of John Brown in Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, and 
account in Salina Journal, Dec, 1883, and Jan.. 1884. 

*i Sanborn, p. 474. See also Richard J. Hinton, John Broiun and His Men, (N. Y., 
1894), p. 643. 

8- Original letters from Mr. Bondi to the present writer. 

83 Ibid. 

^* Ibid. Also sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll., p. 275, &c. 



SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 1 7 

pated in every engagement of his regiment, remaining in active service for 
over three years. A sketch of his career may be found in the Transactions 
of the Kansas Historical Society.*^ In August, 1865, he removed to Leav- 
enworth, and in the following July to Saline County, which became his per- 
manent home. He held various offices — Land Office Clerk, Postmaster, 
Member of the School Board, and for many years a director of the State 
Board of Charities and of the Kansas Historical Society. In i860 he 
married Miss Henrietta Einstein at Leavenworth, and in his narrative 
describes himself as a consistent Jew.** 

Some years ago he presented to the Kansas Historical Society a 
flintlock musket given to him by John Brown in 1856, and which was 
saved from the ashes of Bondi's cabin, burnt while he was with the Union 
Army during the Civil War." 

The career of Brown and his men, according to Rhodes and Bur- 
gess, accomplished practically nothing; according to Emerson and others it 
accomplished marvels. Even were we to subscribe to the former estimate, 
it is still an important element in American history. It may be likened to 
some intense pain in one of the limbs of the human frame, which though 
effecting no cure, yet draws constant attention to the fact that there is 
something seriously wrong, which the surgeon's knife may have to reach 
in order to save the entire body. Certain it is, that the activity of Brown 
and his men in Kansas attracted the attention of every part of the LInion 
to the state of things existing there, never for a moment permitting the 
country to forget that slavery was the cause of it all, and that in order 
to save the Union, the surgery of the sword might be essential. 

Whichever view we take, we cannot deny that John Brown was 
absolutely honest and that his handful of men were enthusiasts like him- 
self. He seemed to instill into them his own spirit, and Bondi's account 
of the night before Black Jack, when they were all faint and hungry, may 
serve to illustrate the wonderful magnetism of the man: 

^■' Ibid. Also 6 Kan. Slate Hist. Soc. Coll., pp. 25, 431. 

^^''Ibid and original letters from Mr. Bond! to the present writer. Also a Mss. Account 
of his career written by Mr. Bondi but unpublished. See also Recollections of John Brotvn 
in Springfield (Mass.) Republican and Salina Journal, Dec. 1883, and Jan., 1884. Also 
article in 6 Kan. State Hist. Soc. Coll., 431, 425 

*' See 3 Kan. Hist. Coll., p. 134. In Jan'y, 1886, in a letter to the Committee of the 
Quarter Centennial, John Brown, Jr., mentions Bondi as one of his father's company. Ibid., 
465. 



1 8 SOME JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 

" We were united," says Bondi, " as a band of brothers by the love 
and affection towards the man who, with tender Words and wise counsel, 
in the depths of the wilderness of Ottawa Creek, prepared a handful of 
young men for the work of laying the foundation of a free Common- 
wealth." He constantly preached anti-slavery. " He expressed himself 
to us that we should never allow ourselves to be tempted by any consider- 
ation, to acknowledge laws and institutions to exist as of right, if our 
conscience and reason condemned them." Some of the remarks quoted 
are full of loftiest sentiments."^ 

In conclusion it may not be inappropriate to give here Brown's own 
opinion of the men who stood by his side in Kansas. I will quote from 
that famous New Englander, Thoreau, who speaks of Brown in Kansas 
as follows : " He was like the best of those who stood at Concord Bridge 
once, on Lexington Common and on Bunker Hill, only he was firmer 
and higher-principled than any I have chanced to hear of there — Ethan 
Allen and Stark, with whom he may in some respects be compared, were 
rangers in a lower order and less important field. They could bravely 
face their country's foes, but he had the courage to face his country her- 
self when she was in the w'rong. He was never able to find more than a 
score or so of recruits whom he would accept, and only about a dozen in 
whom he had perfect faith. When he was here, he showed me a little 
manuscript book — his Orderly book, I think he called it — containing the 
names of his company in Kansas, and the rules by which they bound them- 
selves, and he stated that several of them had already sealed the contract 
with their blood. When someone remarked that with the addition of a 
Chaplain, it would have been a perfect Cromwellian troop, he observed, 
that he would have been glad to add a Chaplain to the list, if he could 
have found one who could fill the office worthily. I believe that he had 
prayers in his camp morning and evening nevertheless." *^ 

Independently of what our views concerning John Brown may be, 
this paper may serve to emphasize that the Jew is no exception in the 
history of our country. The numerous papers in the volumes of the Pub- 
lications of the American Jewish Historical Society have shown that the 
Jew may be found as a pioneer in the history of almost all of the thirteen 
original colonies; that in proportion to his numbers he took his share in 
the Revolutionary struggle, and in every crisis through which our country 
has passed. Here again in the stormy days in Kansas, we find Jews 

88 Sketch in 8 Kan. Hist. Soc. Coll., p. 283. 

^^ Thoreau's Diary, 1857-8. See also Sanborn, Life, &c., p. 503. 



SOfvIE JEWISH ASSOCIATES OF JOHN BROWN 



19 



Standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow-citizens of other denomina- 
tions, fighting for the cause they believed to be right. On the slavery 
issue the Tev»s, like their Christian fellows, were by no means united; 
the Jew of the North gave his life for the flag, while many a Southern Jew 
was buried in his coat of gray. 



Leon Huhner, a. m., ll. b. 



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